Story : New Moon over the Middle Kingdom

Author's note.
Thanks for all the kind compliments in the reviews!
I am continuing to post a revised "New Moon." The text won't be changed much (except for minor alterations to improve clarity and grammar).

Of course, if you don't already own a Mulan DVD, by all means get one today!

-D.C.A.

NEW MOON

OVER THE

MIDDLE KINGDOM

David Clark Allen

A fan fiction novel based on characters and situations from Disney's animated feature Mulan.
Composed February 7 - June 3, 1999, and published on the 1st anniversary of Mulan's world premiere: June 5, 1999.

This story is dedicated to Mary Clark, whom I shall never forget.

One important lesson Grandma Fa made sure Mulan remembered, though, was to never take anyone for granted. "Remember, always treat others as though you will never see them again. For one day you may just wake up to find out they are gone from you forever."

NEW MOON

OVER THE

MIDDLE KINGDOM

Author's note: the characters in Mulan are property of Walt Disney Animation. The author receives no compensation whatsoever for the existence of this story, and is interested only in paying tribute and offering free publicity to the original work which inspired it.

1.

Fa Mulan smiled at her reflection in the pond. For the first time in a long while, she liked what she saw. She saw someone worthwhile.
The sun shone warmly on the Fa family house and garden. The war was over, and Mulan had been reunited with her family for two weeks now. She had spent every afternoon since her return resting and recovering from the battle wound she suffered at the hand of the Hun leader Shan-Yu. However, the bandages that wrapped the minor wound on her abdomen had since been removed.
Mulan sat on the stone bench under the blossoming magnolia tree in her family's garden. A light breeze blew from the southwest, carrying off some of the remaining pastel blossoms from the tree, and they settled in the pond. Grayish shadows of mountains could be seen beyond the trees in the distance. Brushing a lock of her black hair over her ear, then resting her head in her hands, she recounted the last few months' events, since that awful morning with the Matchmaker.
"You may look like a bride, but you will never bring your family honor!"
Mulan remembered how deeply those words cut into her, and how she stood there before the Matchmaker, so dejected she looked like a wilted flower.
Everything since then happened so fast. First she was hanging her head in shame after that catastrophe with the Matchmaker, and the next thing she knew she was a national heroine. And now she was returning to the ordinary, quiet life of a peasant girl.
She thought about her former captain Li Shang, and the last time she saw him. His visit was so unexpected! She reminisced about how he awkwardly approached her father to return his helmet, and how delighted Mulan was when Shang accepted her invitation to dine with her family. It had been two weeks since her commanding officer's call, but his smile and glance still lingered in her mind. Thinking of him made Mulan blush.
Still in a dreamy mood, Mulan walked from her family's garden, past the moongate, to her room. Shan-Yu's sword and the Emperor's Crest, special gifts in return for her service to the Emperor and to China, hung proudly on her wall. Mulan sat on her bed, and Little Brother happily jumped up and curled up next to her.
With brush and ink in hand, she lazily painted pictures on sheets of rice parchment. She painted a scene of mountains, dotted with trees, against a background of clouds. On another sheet she began to draw a face-a very handsome face. She took special care drawing the eyes-those dark eyes! She leaned back and looked up. Mulan hoped it would not be too long before Shang would return.
Mulan began to wonder if she would have to resume her former life, destined to marry an anonymous young man. Her future was now uncertain and scary. She shuddered at the thought of having another trial with the Matchmaker.
Mulan painted pictures of herself as a demure maiden in a ceremonial gown and white face, trying to impress the Matchmaker. Each time Mulan tried to paint herself as a porcelain doll, she decided it didn't look quite right. She shook her head and tossed the paintings aside.
This just is not me, she thought.

Mulan heard the bell ring outside the front gate, and she trotted outside to answer the call. She opened the gate. Before her stood a truly good-looking soldier in elegant armor. A bright red cape waved in the breeze behind him. It was Shang!
She felt her heart race. She swung the gate open, and was about to throw her arms around Shang, when she stopped herself. Mulan sensed by the expression on her former commander's face that this was not a personal visit, and that something was gravely wrong. Disappointed and alarmed, Mulan led Shang inside and asked what was the matter.
"Mulan," Shang began, "I have an urgent message from the Emperor."
She looked up to him curiously.
"There are Huns still in China."
"How could that be?" Mulan asked. "We defeated Shan-Yu, and his entire army is gone."
Shang nodded. "That's true," he said. "But we didn't know that Shan-Yu's invasion was the first of a two-pronged attack. A second Hun army has followed Shan-Yu's army over the Great Wall."
Mulan's eyes grew larger.
"This second Hun army is advancing quickly," Shang continued. "They ride almost without rest."
"Why is that?" Mulan asked.
"I'm not sure, but it looks like they have but one destination: the Imperial City!"
Mulan frowned, and glanced over to her father, Fa Zhou, who had just entered the room.
Shang continued. "We have only a few weeks to rebuild our army and defend the Imperial City. The Emperor is issuing new conscription notices throughout the land."
Shang looked at Mulan intently. "And he has sent me to speak with you and your father personally. You saved China, Mulan, and the Emperor implores you to carry your father's sword and defend our country again."
Mulan felt a dozen emotions at once.
She felt honored that the Emperor urgently needed her. The thought of having a chance to rejoin Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po also made her smile inside. She especially wanted to ride again next to Shang. But she knew she would miss her family, and-what would father say? Mulan silently doubted that her father would allow her to leave. And if she secretly left him again, she would surely break his heart. That would be the last thing she'd want.
Fa Zhou stood quiet and expressionless for a moment, glaring at them. "I'm going to pray," he said plainly. "Then you shall have my answer."
Mulan and Shang exchanged discouraged looks while Fa Zhou limped beyond the garden, and over the footbridge, to the family temple. During what Mulan thought was an eternity, her father meditated, then walked back into the house to talk with Mulan's mother. Mulan could not hear what was being said, but could tell there was a soft, but concerned, tone to both parents' voices.
Mulan's father opened the screen, entered the room with Mulan's mother Fa Li, and spoke to Mulan and Shang.
"Mulan-"
"Father, I know what you're going to say, and-"
Fa Zhou sighed. "Mulan, kneel before me."
Puzzled, Mulan obeyed her father.
He then turned to Shang. "You understand that Mulan is my only child. When she ran away and risked her life, I was crushed."
"If Mulan were to go," he continued, "she would risk her life again. I would rather give my life than see her die in battle."
"You would understand if I refused," said Mulan's father.
Mulan's heart sank.
"However," Fa Zhou continued, "Mulan has brought great honor to our family. She has done heroic things for our country, and is a noble warrior. To not allow her to go would bring dishonor."
He walked over to his daughter, and, facing Mulan, he also kneeled, and placed his sword in her hands.
"Your Emperor has called for you. Take this, with my blessing. Wield it with bravery and honor."
Mulan's mother smiled and nodded to Mulan.
Mulan was speechless. She cradled the weapon in her palms for a moment. Then she threw her arms around Fa Zhou.
"I love you, father."

Mulan began preparing for her departure right away. She carried some dresses from her room, and placed them in a pack.
"Dresses?" Shang asked.
"Of course."
Mulan and her parents wondered why Shang would ask about Mulan's wardrobe.
"Mulan," Shang said, "you don't realize how famous you are. You're a legend all over China, and even the whole world. The Huns know it was you who destroyed their army and killed Shan-Yu, and they could easily spot a woman among male soldiers. You would be a prized target, and the Huns would send their finest archers after you. You wouldn't last a minute."
Fa Zhou and Fa Li raised their eyebrows and looked at each other.
"What do you suggest?" Mulan asked.
"Dress in your father's armor again. You'll blend with the rest of the Imperial troops."
They all nodded in agreement.

Mulan's father opened the cabinet doors, revealing his elegant suit of armor.
As evening approached, Mulan made her second transformation from young woman to armored soldier, except this time it was a less lonely undertaking. With her mother's help, Mulan trimmed her hair again. Fa Li tied Mulan's shortened hair into a small topknot bun with a dark green ribbon.
Then Mulan put on her soft gray lambs-wool hose and white silk stockings. Grandma Fa volunteered to help with the fitting of Mulan's beige and green military robe. With the robe tied in place, Mulan then dressed in her father's forest-green leather cuirass and the matching green neckerchief. She donned the black shoulder and wrist guards, and then her black shin guards.
When all was finished, Mulan stepped out of her room.
Shang stood awestruck at the sight of Mulan. "Ping . . . ," he murmured.
Indeed, Mulan was again the boy soldier Ping. That inept recruit who gave Shang fits. Ping, who, through sheer determination, converted himself from an awkward recruit into a solid warrior. Ping, whose disguise had fooled Shang and his men for so long, until that fateful day at the Tung-Shao Pass . . .

Mulan met her family by the gate, and they said their tearful farewells. Her mother and father had already packed Mulan's saddlebags with her helmet, some dates and dried fish chips for a snack, a bladder of water, a bow and quiver of arrows, and Cri-Kee's cage. Mulan tossed the saddlebags over Khan's back, and then mounted her black horse, while Shang mounted his own white steed. Cri-Kee jumped up onto Khan's back, and settled into Mulan's pack.
"May the Ancestors guide and protect you, Mulan!" Grandma Fa said, dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief.
Fa Zhou approached Mulan. "I should be going with you. But I am too old for this. You are the warrior of the family now, Mulan. You carry the family's honor."
Mulan smiled down at him. "Thank you, Baba."
"Mulan, there is one last thing I wish for you to take with you."
Her father opened his hand to reveal a small pink flower.
"This," Fa Zhou explained, "is the flower from the tree in our garden. The flower that was late to bloom. Remember what I said to you? When this flower finally bloomed, it would be the most beautiful of all."
Shang, looking at the magnolia blossom, nodded in agreement. It certainly was beautiful, and he agreed with the comparison to Mulan.
Mulan, smiling through her tears to her father again, tucked the petals between the folds of her silk sash.
"Ready, Cri-Kee?" Mulan asked the insect hiding in her pack.
Cri-Kee gave out a happy chirp.
"Good-bye! I love you all!" Mulan said.
Shang nodded to Mulan's family. "We shall return, alive and victorious. You have my word."
Then, Little Brother barked a few times, Khan sputtered, and the two warriors galloped off towards the setting sun.